To those familiar with the output of Cologne-based imprint Firm from back in the early ‘00s, the name of Geiger, alias Nass, shall undoubtedly ring a bell. Herald of a hedonistic melange of funk-soaked electro-pop and guitar-riddled synth music, sitting somewhere close to acts like Ween and Junior Boys, Alexander Geiger is about to break an eight-year hiatus with the drop of his debut album under the newly-founded moniker of Fahrland.

A release that both encompasses a healthy dose of the discoid tropes from the Firm era but also aspires to split with a segment of it, geared towards exploring further undisclosed fringes of his shape-shifting sound universe, ‘Mixtape Vol.1’ is the fruit of a decisive move from the sleepless Berlin to the peaceful countryside landscapes of Fahrland – a lushly forested area near Potsdam which you’ll have understood played an essential role in Geiger’s longed-for return.

Versatile and inclusive, the album sweeps a polyamorous gamut of styles and tempos like an answer to the virtual prisons that inhibit us on a daily basis, straying away from normative standards and classic full-length calibration as a result. Instead of weaving a singular narrative course, clear from all type of shackles and chains, Geiger navigates on sight, reflecting on notions as wide and universal as freedom, friendship and love across a multiversal patchwork of sounds and feels.

From the languid sexy vibe of ‘Beggin’, ‘Plastic People’ and ‘Yesterday’ – all three featuring the sensual whispers of multi-talented vocalist and artist MZ Sunday Luv, through the heavily vocodized, chip-implemented groove of I AM ROBOT – reminiscent of Telex and Space Art, balearic jazz & rap shine of ‘Sky So High’, smokey lounge ambience of ‘L AND H’ onto broader ambient-friendly spans such as ‘Suspension’, ‘Windshield Gently Wipers’ and the smooth, sun-basking closer ‘Get Down’, each track holds a fragile cocooned world at its heart.